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Derian Hatcher
| birth_place = Sterling Heights, Michigan | draft = 8th overall | draft_year = 1990 | draft_team = Minnesota North Stars | career_start = 1991 | career_end = 2008 | played_for = Minnesota North Stars Dallas Stars Detroit Red Wings Philadelphia Flyers }} Derian Hatcher (born Derian John Hatcher on June 4, 1972) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and the Philadelphia Flyers. He currently serves as the head coach of the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League. Playing Career As a youth, Derian played in the 1985 and 1986 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the Detroit Compuware minor ice hockey team. He was known as a physical defenseman and a strong bodychecker and used his intimidating size to good effect. Derian was drafted in the 1st round as the 8th overall selection by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft and scored in his NHL debut game on October 12, 1991. He played for the North Stars and went with them when the team moved to Dallas in 1993 He played another 10 years for the Dallas Stars, collecting 71 goals, 223 assists, 1,380 penalty minutes, and captained the Stars to the Stanley Cup in 1999. In doing so, he became the first American-born captain to win the Stanley Cup. In July of 2003, Derian signed with the Detroit Red Wings for a five-year, $30 million contract. A knee injury in just the third game of the season forced him to miss most of the year, playing in just 15 regular season games with the Red Wings. In 2004, due to the cancellation of the NHL season, Derian (along with fellow Detroit Red Wings teammates Chris Chelios & Kris Draper) decided to play minor league hockey with the Motor City Mechanics based out of Fraser, Michigan. On August 2, 2005, he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers after his contract with Detroit was bought out due to the new salary cap. On January 29, 2006, Derian was named interim captain of the Flyers. He served as captain for the rest of the 2005–06 season due to the absence of injured captain Keith Primeau. He has also served as an alternate captain for the Flyers. Suffering from a right knee injury, Derian missed the entire 2008–09 NHL season. He later returned as a "co-coach" for the playoffs. After having replacement surgery on the same knee on June 1, 2009, he said that he would most likely not return to playing hockey. On June 15, 2009, Derian formally announced his retirement from the NHL, this was announced with the Dallas Stars and would remain in the Flyers organization as a player development coach, taking a job vacated by another former Flyer defenseman and captain, Eric Desjardins, who resigned to pursue business interests. He remains the longest-serving captain in the history of the Dallas Stars and their predecessors, the Minnesota North Stars. Career Statistics Regular season and playoffs International Accolades *Played in NHL All-Star Game - 1997 *1999 Stanley Cup champion *NHL Second All-Star Team - 2003 *Inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame - 2010 Personal Life A native Michigander, Derian continues to live in the state today. He and his brother, Kevin (who is also a former NHL player) previously owned a bar/restaurant in Utica, Michigan. In 2015, Derian (along with David Legwand) purchased the OHL's Sarnia Sting. He serves as head coach of the team, with Legwand as an assistant coach. Category:1972 births Category:American ice hockey players Category:American ice hockey defencemen Category:Minnesota North Stars draft picks Category:Minnesota North Stars players Category:Dallas Stars players Category:Detroit Red Wings players Category:Philadelphia Flyers players Category:North Bay Centennials alumni Category:Kalamazoo Wings (1974–2000) players Category:Stanley Cup champions